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As Canada decides to expand its bombing of ISIS into Syria breaching international law it is timely to pause and look at the big picture. Sadly the reality is that we can not extinguish the fires of fanaticism by force alone. More jet sorties by Canada into Syria will not end the conflict. The battle to degrade and destroy ISIS will require a multi-pronged approach, including military, ideological, economic and political warfare. The ideological battle is extremely important.

Also I fully support the comment that “the anarachy in the middle east will find its redemption in education not religion.“ This does not let religious fanaticism within Islam off the hook for responsibility, but it does put education in the spotlight. The right parallel is offered by Salmon Rushdie in an interview in Jan. 2015 when questioned about his view that, “religion a medieval form of unreason” and asked “is possible to defend Islam from those who blame it specifically for these kind of deadly attacks, while at the same time criticizing religion as a whole?
RUSHIE said:
“Well I think…look, religions are not monolithic, and they’re not just one thing. And of course there are an enormous number of people in the Muslim World of whom these criticisms could not be made and should not be made. But something very dark has happened inside Islam which has given rise to a body of fanaticism which actually, of course it’s only ever a few psychopaths who go out and kill people, but a broader group of people within the Muslim world who in a way accept the ideas of Jihad and I think a lot of that has to do with the rise of religious schools around the Muslim world financed, essentially by Saudi money, to propagate a very extreme version of Islam and that I think has had a very harmful effect.”

“The victory of the French Enlightment was a victory over the Church and not the state. And out of that came the modern idea of free expression. So now you could argue that we’re having a similar battle, but a different religion and different church, but the same argument. “

Where will the inspiration for an “ISLAM ENLIGHTMENT “ come as suggested by Rushdie? Why not Saudi secular leadership as this country has sadly been the major source of funding for the distorted fanatical Muslim education worldwide.

How the Sluggish Global Economy provokes Radicalization
The technologies advance in all spheres and the Internet keeps people around the globe informed, while the economy underperforms in most global markets. The ideology of the trickle-down Capitalism could not prevent or shorten the 2001&2009 recessions, neither it can boost the anemic post-recession recovery in the European Union, the Middle East, Africa or South America, (if realistically, a recession with limited less than 1% growth constantly sinking under water markets could be considered over). Simultaneously, the growing inequality concentrates highest percentage wealth into smaller number of ultra-rich ravaging the middle-class, wherever it is succeeded, or not providing condition for establishing one. Under such conditions, it becomes natural for the dark human forces that prompt discrimination, nationalism, and narcissism to bloom.
There is a plenty of economic data to support appointed statements; however, the effect of these developments on the rising radicalization is not researched to its full extend. The world media tend to politicize global instabilities: the Arabian Spring, the ISIL, the Crimea’s take over, e.g. are either associated with harsh regimes such as the Mubarak’s in Egypt, Khadafy’s in Libya, or the US war on terror in Iraq and Afghanistan, or the religious phantasm such as ISIL and Al-Qaida, or the Mr. Putin policies in Russia. However, very few journalists or economists attempt looking beyond the obvious into the fundamental reasons for such profound radicalization of religious, nationalistic, and other ideas that remand such disharmony instead of the prevailing ideas that the world is a better place, where generally, genocide, cruelty, aggression are attitudes of the past in a matured humanity.
Even when US led Coalition waged war on Saddam Hussein in Iraq, or on Al-Qaida in Afghanistan, the idea was to instigate “good” over “evil”, democracy over dictatorship and phantasm. Certainly, the ideas of liberties, human rights, and righteousness were the Coalition’s standing-points in decision-making: from the political to down on the field strategic ones. Humanitarian approach, even in time of war was considered paramount.
The cruelty with which ISIL treats their enemies, chopping heads and raping girls even when many well educated and “civilized” ISIL participants came from all over the developed world, or the self-centered Russian aggression by occupying Crimea and by provoking unrest and mingling with their neighbor Ukraine’s territorial integrity that already cost thousand of killed are considered uncivilized and unthinkable; The noble ideas widely accepted, obviously are not a status-quo,
Historically viewed: the a Half-Century bettered economically world created for themselves an illusion of invisibility, but when the global economies slammed casual the last 2001&7 Recessions and the following slow recovery (if such could be called recovery) by bringing insecurity and poverty to many, the world remand aggression and radicalism to hound our sense of justice.
The recession slam that was instigated by the:
1) Imbalance in real estate overcapitalized prices;
2) Slow down in industrial production and related industries casual of the ongoing globalization and rising productivity;
3) China’s super-industrialization and the outsourcing and moving of industrial production from the developed economies to elsewhere;
4) Internet and the Twitter, Facebook, and etc networks;
5) Earth pollution that affected weather-prompting extremities.
The developed economies from UK and US to China and Japan dealt through unorthodox economic policies of quantitative easing, subsidies, fiscal stimulus, targeted investment packages into infrastructure and business development to boost their growth, and with idea that their success will improve the global economy. Many of Emerging Markets (China not included) were constrained from pursuing counter-cyclical measures by the WB and IMF, or by the European Union in case of their members and associate members. EU, under Germany, followed and continues the trickle-down budgetary economics of austerity measures (pro-cyclical by nature) resulting in prolonged in-and-out recession and a very limited “recovery” (as the data shows).
What the global market experienced, because of these pro-cyclical policies, is extreme stagnation, lack of growth, high unemployment, and solid retraction from the humanitarian values that had been built for a Half of Century, up to the beginning of this one. The discriminatory immigration policies loomed in the US, France, UK, e.g. steering nationalism, however, the most economically affected areas of the Middle East, Africa, and Eastern Europe, e.g. exploded out. There is a straightforward interrelation between the economic upheavals ravaging most markets around the globe by invoking the dark human sides and the emerging conflicts. Targeted economic actions are required to prevent their expansion, indeed. It is of high importance for the most developed economies and China, WB and IMF to start acting responsibly in promoting global economic development, also environmentally friendly one, but not rely on the “old” system of the so called orthodox economics.

Fully agree with the concept and approach except for one important thing which is still missing: to bring all Muslim scholars together in one global conference or council to make a universal declaration to the whole world on what Islam stands for and what Islam is not and then to disseminate to all concerned on earth and in all languages and modes of communication the Declaration. In similar fashion to the first council of Nicaea when Christianity defined its values and belief system (which incidentally may not have been in harmony with the values of the early Christians and the true gospel of the prophet Jesus, peace be upon him).

I hope the Ruler of Dubai with his brother the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and all OIC states could join hands and convene such a once and for all council in Makkah to declare what Islam is and what it is NOT and to bring everyone who has any doubt on board of the moderate religion of Islam without extremism. Please do it.
Thank you.

Sayyid Qtub, writing In The Shade oh the Koran, Salafism, Wahabbism are all belief systems widely dispersed through the Middle East which explain that Muslims find themselves in their sorry state because they didn't love Allah enough to follow the Suras and Hadiths which showed everyone how a single man lived, followed Allah's teachings and went from paganism to greatness through Islam. That ideological fire was lit, then fanned into a consuming flame by Sayyid and Osama. Fighting an ideology with bombs will not be effective. Islam and how to live it, needs a new author. None are currently in sight.

I am not disagreed with the honourable prime minister of DUBAI and have no doubt that these policy implications need to take into account to resolve these contemporary issues.
Yes, in ISLAM there is no place for extremism, and extremist need to be prevented immediately otherwise there will be no unmutilated building in the world.
But at very first we need to define our busybody in which the USA is now placed. Some questions regarding USA's policy must need to be answered-
1. Is the USA the best negotiator in the world?
2. If so, has he ensure humanitism and altruism in all his decisions he has taken?
3. If so, why he took three different actions against three different parties envolving in extrimism?
Decision about IRAQ-SYRIA-ISIS
Decision about PALESTAIN-ISRAIL
Decision about UKRAIN-CRIMIA-RUSSIA.

But the fact is that the USA is not unbiased. He has taken decisions by his own conveneince not in the interest of the dealing parties. Which is vastly hamper the empeacement of the world.

Very timely reminder that we can not extinguish the fires of fanaticism by force alone. The battle to degrade and destroy ISIS will require a
multi-pronged approach, including military, ideological, economic and political warfare. The ideological battle is extremely important.

At last some common-sense, and two very pertinent observations in the preceding comments. Firstly, education. If these angry young men received at their madrassahs training in practical trades such as carpentry, plumbing and permaculture in addition to their religious study, they could earn a living, gain self-esteem, afford a wife and family, contribute to a civil society and find some contentment. Secondly, the lack of feminine influence in their lives and consequent absence of respect for women. I think we all know this is the elephant in the living room.

I liked it when Obama said their ideology is bankrupt, If we ever going to even start combating extremism we need to be honest about three facts westeren people ether don't know it or shy away from
1- What al-Qaida or ISIS has is simply put: (this is the wish of God, so we should obey or else, he'll burn us in hell .. period) but the content of the narrative itself is weak and doesn't stand for the narrative and promises of the western civilization, but this doesn't matter becaise the jihadi will always shut you up by the (this is the will of god thing)

2- I studied sharia law in academic schools in the middle east by highly educated religious (not militant jihadis) scholars (from college!!) Not in some kind of khalwa (islamic madrasa), and guess what: the sharia is one thing, not a moderate version and an extreme other, I am sorry to shock you, but we need to confront the ugly truth,
Just as an example: every muslim knows that conversion from islam is punishable by death in sharia (clearly stated) and this is the law in every sharia applying country like say (Saudi Arabia, Sudan). If a muslim country doesn't apply this its becsuse they shose a secular option, not a moderate islam ..
3- their is a lot of boadting that terror is a result of the american two wars, as if there was no Islamic extremism and terror way before (and also as an attempt to deny any intrinsic problem in the theological narrative itself), and alot of us forget that 9/11 attacks were in 9/11 2001 ! (Before iraq/Afghanistan invasion),
If you talk to most Muslims they always tell you how they feel sorry they lost their civilization in Spain and dearly wish they get back! But last time I checked there were no American invasion justified the Muslim invasion of Spain in the first place

Generally, I am a defender of Islamic culture and historical Arab thinkers. It's partly for that reason I am shocked to read a leader of the Arab world to suggest there is any "intellectual" battle with any of the various cults victimizing the Mideast. ISIS is not an extreme version of Islam, it is off the map of any human ideology.

The intellectual battle we all need today is between those governments who treat terrorist cults as instruments of regional strategy, versus those who are working for the rule of law to govern international relations.

It has been often reported that the USA itself was guilty of supporting Osama bin Laden when they believed he was useful to counter Soviet ambitions in Afghanistan. Most of us understand now how foolish that policy was.

We are still waiting for the oil monarchies of the Arabian Peninsula to acknowledge their own errors., regarding support for terrori cults. Meanwhile, we have more than a few intellectual objections to their extreme suppression of human rights among their own citizens, and guest workers.

I welcome the contribution of the Prime Minister and Ruler here. I look forward to increased self-awareness around the world.

Before today, maybe I made the mistake of thinking that only west was blind and cinic.
There will be no victory in this war against ISIS, neither over the two "wars" against IRAQ, and of course zero results on Afganisthan.
Extremism is today much more extended and dangerous than before Soviet intervention in Afganisthan.
In the middle the mistakes on represion of moderate Muslims on Egipt. And what about Lybia ?.
I'm not more impressed wiewing the ISIS executions, than the images I have of Guantanamo and other testimonies about tortures and violatons by the Barbarians "democracies"
If we are going to fight against extremism , we have to fight against all of them.
For give a bright example, I want Bush,Cheney and Rumsfeld in the same place of Saddam Hussein and Gadaffi.
There is inmorality in the other side of ISIS.
We are going in the wrong direction, since many years ago.
Arms only ,are not the solution.
What about a Moral battle also ???
I'm afraid is not possible,there is no way to win battles without fighting simultaneously agaisnt inequaqlity, poverty, injustice, and the huge power of corruption who supply arms,and bought oil fm.anybody.
Wich countries or kingdoms have been financing terrorism away to keep the thing out of their frontiers ???-
I prefer to do not use the offense easily. just suggest one of my worries.

May I humbly remind the author that all the nouns and adjectives he uses for the ISIS are nothing in comparison to describe the adversaries it is facing head on a la` Don Quixote and thus like in any conflict there is no telling what/ who may prevail. World may yet see truth not be an eternal casualty.

HRH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum of Dubai is championing a safer world without extremism, saying the international community is "interdependent" for global security. He believes it is important to "discredit the ideology - of rage and hate - that gives extremists their power, and to restore hope and dignity to those whom they would recruit". His suggestion is to "win the battle of ideas"; to "upgrade weak governance"; and to "support grassroots human development".
Given the international bunch - some 80 nationalities - that makes up ISIS fighters, His Highness thinks a "concerted international political will" is necessary to counter this "globalized threat". Basically he is urging to tackle the grievances that "mobilize thousands of desperate, vindictive, or angry young people", thanks to technology, and "strike at the root". Yet he ought to persuade the rulers in the region to do more for their own citizens!
Sheikh Mohammed is one of the most formidable and impressive sheikhs within the United Arab Emirates, sparking both envy and admiration in the region. Despite limited oil resources Dubai has cleverly diversified its economy by developing new sectors such as tourism, construction and finance. The tiny emirate has seen phenomenal growth and development in recent years. Sheikh Mohammed is someone ambitious and trustworthy. He knows what he wants and gets things done - a serious player with whom the West can do business.
But looking at other Sunni rulers in the region, where can Sheikh Mohammed find a counterpart who will let his citizens call on his mobile phone, if they have a problem? Many of his peers live in an ivory tower. No-one would accuse Sheikh Mohammed of being aloof. He has his phone number publicised throughout Dubai, so that anyone can call him.
In 2007 Sheikh Mohammed said he was giving $10bn to set up an educational foundation in the Middle East. The money was meant to improve the standard of education and build a "knowledge-based society, which would help create jobs. He was aware of "a wide knowledge gap between us and the developed world in the West and in Asia".
The question is whether other Arab rulers have followed suit? It's their duty to provide for education and employment to cope with youth bulge. They also need to foster good governance by combating corruption and promoting equality. The region needs millions of job opportunies. Without work and income, young men can't marry and have families. These grievances led to the Arab uprisings in 2011.

Perhaps the first step in "winning the battle of ideas" lies in confronting the fact that instability in the Middle East since the 1970's is in large measure a _reaction_ to a complex set of conditions in the region: economic, demographic, social, political... And in my view, confronting this fact honestly will require, as a first step, abandoning the two prevailing scapegoats for all that is wrong there: Religion, and The West. (Which is not to say, by any means, that these have not been significant factors. Rather to say that they have not been _determinant_ factors compared to, for example, demographics.)

What is needed is some careful and honest introspection -- not some "counter ideology" that will, once again, fail to address the underlying problems and leave the people more angry and frustrated than ever.

Is that panic I hear? Nobody is so much threatened by ISIS as the petty monarchs and dictators that now rule throughout the Arab world The question western governments should ask is whether it really threatens any one else. Who are these "foreign fighters" who supposedly will be the vectors for the spread of terrorism beyond the region? Are they really just adventurers enthralled by the ideology ISIS expounds, or are they men with family ties to the region who value the peace ISIS has brought to their communities?

Western powers should recognize that there are long-standing pressures for unity within the Arab world, and that the vehicle for that unification is likely to be an organization very like ISIS, whose tactics reflect those used by Mohammed in uniting the tribes of Arabia. Those tactics carry a divine endorsement, at least so far as Muslims are concerned, and have been used effectively (and not so long ago) by groups such as the Wahhabi in Saudi Arabia. It's no wonder the sheikh is nervous.

Westerners have an interest in seeing that terrorism does not spread from the Middle East to infect their own societies, but they don't necessarily have an interest in propping up petty potentates or in stifling movements towards Arab unity. So, let's be careful about how we use are power. We can make the point that it's dangerous to attack westerners, but we should not try to extinguish the Islamic State unless it fails to take our point. Leave that job to the regional powers, if they can manage it.

I agree with the writer, but I also agree with many of the comments.
Yes there is an unprecedented "evil" force needs defeating, and in order to defeat it, and make that victory sustainable there needs to be a "good" force.

But today such "good" force simply does not exist. Even the "most developed", "enlightened" nations concentrate wealth to a small minority, social inequality is vast and growing, the excessive and artificial overproduction and over-consumption is depleting human and national resources, we are irreversibly destroying our natural environment, and many of the "evil" observed in the world is actually created and supported by those who now claim to fight against it.

The external "evil" can only be defeated when first we defeat our internal "evil", which is our self-centered, egoistic human nature, which nature created this world we see now, which world is sinking into deep, destructive crisis on multiple fronts.

Even in fairy tales and Hollywood "evil" can only be defeated by "good".
Thus first we have to rebuild that "good", changing a empty, base-less, aimless, inhumane human society into a humane one.

"Good", humane in a global integral world is mutually complementing cooperation in an equal manner, primarily working towards the benefit, prosperity of the whole, above personal, national calculations, interest.
And since such a change is against our inherent nature we need to establish a comprehensive and positive, mutual education program that can "upgrade our software", helping us understand that in a common boat the individual can survive only if the boat stays afloat.

Who created this frankenstinic monster, its the same saudi and arab money. Now the monster threatens its masters. Is it a surprise that Al-Qaeda never carried out a single attack in many of the monarchies in the middle-east. AQ was brought off with protection money, which eventually has helped sustain it this far. The West has to walk the talk, they encourage these puppet monarchies created by the British Empire in todays world of democracy. Let the middle-east and every islamic country go thru its process of realising the strength and weakness of its ideology, it is going to be bloody, like it has been till date.

A sound voice of reason, in a region where that is deeply needed.
Military containment, as the author points out is but one method of facing an enemy. We have to appeal to potential recruits to this nihilistic group BEFORE they join, not simply rely on bombing afterward AND we have to find common grounds with responsible people of all faiths lest we founder in our ability to defeat true evil..

Its analogous to preventing a cancer by not smoking rather than trying to cut out tumors. Much easier and less devastating to the patient

The main message here is that force alone cannot defeat extremist ideologies such as the one that supports ISIS. Its root causes must be addressed as well.
The real defeat of violent, armed extremism will come with the realization that power and wealth concentration while most of the world suffer deprivation are also a form of terrorism that festers with impunity in today's world.
On this I fully agree with the author: it's urgent to "address the black holes in human development that afflict many areas of the Middle East."
I would add such black holes must be addressed everywhere to prevent similar occurrences in the future.
Now, that would be real leadership.

I shall be crude. It is all to do with sex. Ernst Mayr and Freud were right about the importance of sex in evolution and psychology. It is all about the phallus. The sword. Decapitation and the castration complex. They wave swords about as if they were phalli. It is about the subjugation of women. It iz about Men who have not grown up. It is about the internet and wish-fulfilment and frustration. It is not about Islam. It is about a dysfunctional society we created where no one communicates.

This is a well written argument, however, many of the countries are oil rich, and however the money is kept by a small elite leaving millions in poverty without even the basic necessities creating a fertile recruiting ground for fundamental groups. So this campaign needs to start at home with these governments dramatically improving the lot of their disenfranchised masses.

Opposing an ideology to an ideology, here I'm not sure what's the prime minister's definition of ideology. My interpretation of ideology is of an uncritical flow of believes that motivate blind irrational intolerant actions. That's not what we need as a reaction to ISIS.

See also:

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Sooner or later, Trump's core supporters will wake up to this fact, so it is worth asking how far he might go to keep them on his side.

A Saudi prince has been revealed to be the buyer of Leonardo da Vinci's "Salvator Mundi," for which he spent $450.3 million. Had he given the money to the poor, as the subject of the painting instructed another rich man, he could have restored eyesight to nine million people, or enabled 13 million families to grow 50% more food.

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The Bollywood film Padmavati has inspired heated debate, hysterical threats of violence, and a ban in four states governed by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party – all before its release. The tolerance that once accompanied India’s remarkable diversity is wearing thin these days.

The Hungarian government has released the results of its "national consultation" on what it calls the "Soros Plan" to flood the country with Muslim migrants and refugees. But no such plan exists, only a taxpayer-funded propaganda campaign to help a corrupt administration deflect attention from its failure to fulfill Hungarians’ aspirations.

French President Emmanuel Macron wants European leaders to appoint a eurozone finance minister as a way to ensure the single currency's long-term viability. But would it work, and, more fundamentally, is it necessary?

The US decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel comes in defiance of overwhelming global opposition. The message is clear: the Trump administration is determined to dictate the Israeli version of peace with the Palestinians, rather than to mediate an equitable agreement between the two sides.